The Camden Lions defeated the Dresden Lions in a homecoming victory that started with the visitors heavily favored, coming into the game with only one loss. The Camden players came out of the field house with victory in mind & quickly took a 14 – 0 advantage to a 35-7 half time lead and finished strong for the first CHS homecoming victory since the 2000 Homecoming shut out of Stewart County.
The pregame ceremonies included presentation of the Homecoming Royalty and class representatives. They are:
Class representatives:
- Freshman – Chelsey Sroka
- Sophomore – Candace Nunnery
- Junior – Anna Martin
- Senior – Melissa Arnold
The Homecoming Court:
- 2nd Maid – Megan Malin
- 1st Maid – Karen Farmer
- Queen – Kellie Belisle
Thanks to all that assisted in the ceremony and congratulations to Kellie and her Court!
Following the pregame ceremony, Al Ward, the Wright Field Stadium announcer, congratulated two members of the CJH football team on being selected to the River Conference “All Conference Team”. They are Chase “Moose” Horton and Spencer Berry. Congratulations to Spencer and Moose on this honor!
Josh Beasley and Dennis Will met the Dresden game captains at midfield for the coin toss, and they get it right. Camden wants to lead with our defense, so we are kicking it. Clay Carruth teed it up and banged it deep, and the Dresden Lions (DL) were able to run it out to the 32 where Dennis Will and Bryce Wilbanks make the stop. Camden lets the squirmy back get past for a gain of nine. Kyle Moore leads the stop on the right edge, but it’s enough for a Dresden first down at their 49. Their QB starts left, but Moore stays at home & forces him wide. Maurice Gastelum is there to finish him off for no gain. A dive play over center nets three before Thomas Dupree hammers him. As their back starts into the line the ball is loose and Dennis Will owns it! Camden ball on our 45! Big play, defense!
Well, everyone knows you just have to stop Josh Boyd to stop Camden & Dresden has heard that news. Brian Markham fakes the pitch to Boyd and gives it to Heath Yoder. Heath slants behind the blocks of Beasley, Will, and John Hodge for a gain of 5. Watch Boyd...the throw to Matthew Chandler just misses and it’s 3rd & 5. This time Markham gives to Boyd and Josh pix his way along the line slanting left. He finds the gap and is gone to their 42 and a first down! 8:30 showing and Boyd is at work again. The Camden offensive line has him into the backfield and he adds two great cuts to get thru. Maurice Gastelum holds a downfield block until Josh can get all the way to the one-yard line! Great play! Boyd runs the quick dive into the line and he scores! The kick is blocked, but with 7:48 left in the first Camden is up 6 – zip.
The Dresden returner has to run ‘way back to retrieve Carruth’s kick (what was he thinking…) and Brian Markham has him in his sights at the 10! A great job by the kickoff team! Dresden is pumped and Yoder runs down their running back at their 31, first down. Gastelum and Chad Horton combine to make it 2nd & 4. The DL back starts left but Gastelum strings the play out until he can finish him off for a loss of 1. The thought in the Dresden huddle is “This wasn’t supposed to be this hard…”. They are able to grunt out a first down run at the 41. A run to the left side picks up four before Josh Guajardo and Horton press the Lion back into the turf. The DL QB rolls right and passes downfield, but Desmond Zollicoffer is all over it and knocks it incomplete. Jeremy Stokes hammers the running back to make it 4th & 4, and Camden takes a time out to talk about punt returns…and punt blocking. The snap is back and so is Byron Boyd, Josh Guajardo, and Zach Brazzell. Somehow the punter gets the ball out of a deep hole, but it is high and short and downed at our 35; the CHS offense will start there.
3:59 left in the first and the game is still penalty-free. Boyd starts left and is swamped. He doesn’t quit and muscles for a +4 on his own. Boyd takes the pitch to the right and hurdles a Dresden player for a gain of 4. Ricky Schopf and John Hodge open a hole that Boyd sprints thru and drives for a first down at our 49! Boyd follows Josh Beasley for a pickup of two. Markham drops straight back and spots Josh Guajardo open over the middle. The pass is on target, Josh catches it and a 180o spin breaks him loose to the 9-yard line, first and goal Camden! 70 seconds left in the first period & Markham runs “Student Body Left” with a pitch to Boyd. Three cheerleaders and a tuba player were reported to have assisted in blocking as Dresden players were mowed down all the way to the one-yard line. Boyd gets to finish it on the very next play with a dive over Dennis Will’s block to score! Coach Ward said to go for two with a 12-point advantage & the Camden Lions are up to the task. Maurice Gastelum is in motion from his wide out position, right to left. Markham on the handoff, Maurice cuts around left end and busts into the end zone for two! 53.6 seconds left in the first and Camden has a 14 – zip game going their way!
Carruth tees it, bangs it, and Hodge leads the stop at their 35. Dresden starts a five-running play scoring drive that bridges into the second period. With 10:50 on the clock, the DL running back slants right and scores from 44 yards out. Their Lion kicks it thru and it’s a 14-7 game.
The kick is deep into the right corner and Matthew Chandler is there to run it out. He has blockers and squirts out to the right sideline and is finally stopped at the 38. Gastelum takes the first down handoff and drives around right end for a gain of four. Boyd makes the right edge and is gone for a score…except for some yellow laundry that says, “Illegal Block”, so it’s a Camden first down at their 33. Guajardo takes the handoff and slips on the cut for a loss. We take a timeout to talk it over with 2nd & 13 at their 36. With 8:42 left in the half, Brian Markham takes the snap, drops into the pocket, and spots Zach Brazzell down the middle. The pass is perfect, and Zach runs it in for the score! Yoder snaps, Markham holds, and Carruth sends a mortar shot into the trees to make it Camden 21, Dresden 7.
Clay tees it up and bangs the kick deep…how deep? No return-bouncing thru the end zone-start at the 20-deep! Well, it seems as though the Camden defense was ready for a three-and-out. Thomas Dupree and Kyle Moore steamroll the running back for a loss of one. The DL back starts left and Gastelum is covered up with a blocker. Maurice fights thru the block and slings him down at the 23. The Dresden QB fakes the handoff into the line and pitches it right. Desmond Zollicoffer is there and makes a great solo stop for a 3-yard loss! 4th & 10 and they are punting it! Great stop defense! The punt is low and left and out-of-bounds at the 50.
Markham throws it just a bit low to Jesse Leonard, incomplete. 6:16 left before the break, and Markham hits Gastelum right in stride on the slant and he rumbles to their 25! Byron Boyd takes the ball around left end, cuts back inside and scores…but a flag calls it all back, illegal block. Jesse Leonard in motion, takes the ball and slants over the center and cuts left to run over a DL and gets to the 5-yard line, first down! Byron on the pitch, but it’s a Dresden jailbreak and they stop him for a loss of 3. 4:20 showing and Markham fakes the handoff into the line, rolls right looking for a receiver. Time to go, Brian pulls the ball down and beats them all to the pylon for six points! The kick is good and with four minutes up, Camden is up 28-7.
Clay Carruth kicks it into the end zone…again…and Dresden will start at the 20…again. The CHS defense is on the field ready to apply one more “trey-unt-out”. The QB gets flushed from the pocket and is able to make the corner, but Zollicoffer and Horton combine to force him out of bounds. A “Pride of Lions” stops the run up the middle, but they just barely get a first down at the 30. Their QB rolls left and throws a pass in the left flat. Josh Guajardo is there for the tip, incomplete, 2nd & 10. Another incomplete pass and it’s 3rd & 10. When the QB drops back, no one is open and after his first step, so Bryce Wilbanks and Thomas Dupree meet him for the sack. They are set for the punt, but the long snapper is thinking about blocking WAY more than snapping and he zooms the ball over the punter’s head!
The following Camden Lions were present at the nine-yard line when the punter was properly smooshed into the Wright Field grass: Matthew Chandler, Heath Yoder, Chad Horton and Josh Guajardo…along with a supporting cast of seven! Great play Lions, first and goal!
Markham lines up the offense, sells the fake handoff into the line and rolls to the left. The end zone calleth, and Brian answereth. He sprints to the one-yard-line, is met by a defensive player and just drives him into the end zone for the score! Carruth bangs it thru the center, but he is hammered down by a frustrated DL after the kick. 35-7 Camden and you can add a flag here with the penalty to be assessed on the next kick.
2:16 left in the half, Clay has it teed up at the Dresden 45. The kick flies into the fence on the fly and Dresden will start at the 20. The first back thru the hole has it and is gone ‘way out to OUR 33 where Chad Horton runs him down. Wilbanks and Gastelum combine to pressure the QB out of the pocket so that Trevor Busby can sack him up back at our 48! Good job defense! They move and it’s 2nd & 25 and you can sense their self-destruction…with some CHS defensive help, of course! Justin Smith, Bryce Wilbanks, and Dennis Will combine to stop the run up the middle after only one. Jeremy Stokes and Wilbanks read thru the run over left tackle and it’s 4th & 13 at our 41. 28.2 seconds left in the half and they burn a time out of get it right. They line it up to go for it & Coach Ward wants a time out. Line it up again but there is a flag at the snap, illegal procedure on them makes it 4th & 18 at our 46. Try again, and the QB drops back a throws a long pass down the right sideline. Desmond Zollicoffer is there in coverage and intercepts! He has some blockers and sprints down the sideline to their 31, first down Camden!
The clock shows 14.6 seconds before the break, and Markham zings a pass to Zach Brazzell at the goal line. Zach falls back into the end zone and the ball comes out, but the refs see it the other way, incomplete. The last play of the half is an incomplete pass into the end zone and the shell-shocked Dresden team heads for the lockers with Camden on top, 35-7!
The CHS Marching Band performed & received a huge ovation for their hard work throughout the season. Halftime also included a presentation of the Sorghum Bowl Beauty Pageant winners by the Camden Quarterback Club. All of the winners of the Sorghum Bowl Beauty Pageant’s five age groups were on the field and were even prettier than previously voted! Congrats to all of the winners and their proud parents!
Josh Beasley is back at midfield to meet the Dresden captain and the consensus vote is “We Receive!” Chandler fields it on one hop, cuts to the right and bulls to the 28. Jesse Leonard takes the inside handoff for a first down at the 38. The pass into the left flat is intercepted and Dresden has a first down at midfield. Busby gets a big hit on the inside run after a gain of 3. Wilbanks doesn’t take the bait on the opposite motion and meets the running back for a loss of one. A run over right tackle works for a first down out at our 39, and the defense needs a big play. The Dresden QB is pressured out of the pocket by Dupree and Gastelum and as he rolls right he lets the pass fly into the right flat. Zollicoffer pulls the ball in at the 17 for a critical interception!
The pitch to Boyd results in a slip and a loss of one and a run up the middle is swamped to make it 3rd & 13 at our 15. 8:20 left in the third and the quick slant pass to Gastelum nets 11, but Josh Guajardo is headed out to punt it away…for the first time tonight! Josh bangs a mortar shot that has their returner headed the wrong way and he has to signal a fair catch at their 30! Great job!
Dresden starts a 16-play drive that eats up the rest of the 3rd period and bridges over into the 4th. They move the ball as far as the Camden 24 before they self-destruct. With 1:40 left Bryce Wilbanks slams the running back down, but they have a first down at our 24. Guajardo tips a pass away at the goal line with some excellent defensive coverage and it’s 2nd & 10. The delayed handoff gains some before Guajardo & Yoder make a stop, but the refs add a flag and it all adds up to 2nd & 15 at the 29. It’s a broken play, so Yoder & Gastelum bang the QB to the turf to make it 3rd & 20. 8 seconds left, and Wilbanks, Beasley, and Dupree smother their QB to make it 4th & another area code. They are going for it and the first play of the fourth quarter is a screen pass that does get outside. Guajardo runs him down at our 25 and it’s Camden’s ball! Way to hang in there, defense!
Josh Boyd takes the handoff and slants left for a gain of five. An illegal procedure flag moves it back and it’s 2nd & 10. Boyd cranks it up a notch, runs over two Dresden tackler-wanna-bees and adds a first down at our 35! Markham fakes the wide pitch to Boyd and Leonard is diving into the line for a gain of two. Gastelum runs the square out pattern to perfection and Markham delivers. The turn up field levels a Dresden Lion before he pushed out at our 47. An official time out allows their player to get to the sideline and the game is on with 9:28 left in the game and it’s our 3rd &3. Boyd takes the quick count handoff and pushes the pile for one, 4th & 2. We are at the line going for it and Markham pulls off the hard count to perfection. They jump, yellow laundry flies up, and the drive is still alive! That’s real important, because the next play is a scoring run by Josh off left tackle. Two Dresden defensive backs have the right angle and just can’t keep up as Boyd delivers the knock out punch for Camden! Carruth splits the white posts and with 7:52 left to play, the score is Camden 42, Dresden 7. It must have been more than the Dresden coaches could bear as they packed up their headsets and left the press box!
Carruth bangs another great kick away from their returner, and he runs it down at the one-yard line. The ball is on the ground, he has it and is slammed down at the 16! Great kick coverage! The Camden defense delivers yet another “trey-unt-out”, and they are punting from their endzone! Short punt, long bounce and it adds up to our ball at our 47. Byron Boyd gets the call with two dive plays and a pitch around left end to keep the clock rolling and with 3:30 showing Josh Guajardo is kicking. It’s high and straight and long enough that our guys down it at their 21! The Dresden offense is headed the wrong way thanks to a stop by Justin Hubbs, a sack by Justin Smith, and a fumble…Camden’s ball! Brian Markham is able to call his favorite play to end the game, and with 6.6 seconds the Victory Knee takes the win to the house, Camden 42, Dresden 7!
Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward about the upset win: “We played really well and it was big for our kids. We challenged them all week to believe that they could play like a good football team, and this will give us a lot of confidence. Our kids were focused all day long, even when we came in for the pregame and just before they went out. We said that this was their game if they wanted it. This is what we wanted them to do at Adamsville to reward themselves for all their hard work.”
On Camden starting on defense: “I think on the previous eight games we started with the ball first. When we win the toss, we usually take the ball. We decided to defer to challenge our defense to be up and play super. We got underneath Dresden’s pads, and that’s the guy that usually wins. We did that all night long, a lot of it just because of their size, but we controlled the line of scrimmage when we did. We tackled so much better, and I think it had a lot to do with them watching themselves on tape & seeing how bad they looked against Adamsville. They wanted to change that and we had a great week of practice. They started to believe in themselves.”
On all the weapons that are developing: “We have been trying to get that done since the beginning of the season. It’s not just Josh Boyd or Brian Markham or Jesse Leonard. It was Desmond Zollicoffer knocking passes down and making interceptions. Maurice had a great night, I think he had 15 tackles. That is also a credit to the defensive front, keeping them off the linebackers. Chad Horton had a great night, we had him doing something a little different and after the game he told Coach Blow that he felt more prepared for the game than he ever has been. The kids have to believe our system, and Chad did. He was focused in on executing & running plays & reading keys to run to the football.”
On the halftime talk owning a 35-7 lead: “We told them that we didn’t come into this game to play two great quarters and go home. We asked them all week: “How great can you play if we execute and don’t make mistakes?” Dresden was a good team and we knew they could come back, keep playing like it is a zero-zero tie. Win the second half & we win the game. We had some Seniors that talked and our kids listened. A lot of good things happened in the second half, and I guess you could say we had the bounce of the ball going for us. They ate up the whole third quarter but we kept them out of the endzone. I told them before the game, I will give them 800 yards, if we can keep them out of the endzone. We subbed a lot and it kept us fresh.”
ON the team rolling on with Josh Boyd down with a pulled hammy: “Our kids know that Josh is the real deal & he does a good job of leading our offense, but you look out on the field and there are a lot of other weapons that are making plays. We put Byron (Boyd) with the ball at tailback and he scores and we load up some receivers to soften them up and it keeps them from zeroing in on any one guy. Josh ends up with 160 yards rushing and Brian (Markham) adds 120 passing. That was our goal coming in, to be balanced. We all know that we are not going to stop for any one kid. We practice a lot of different people in different positions during the week just for that.”
On comments that this might have been the best passing Camden team on Wright Field in many years: “Brian and I talked a lot this past week about how were are going to have to attack their defense. If they wanted to, they could put enough big people in the box to shut down our running game & the win may be on his shoulders if they outnumber us. Brian was very focused and asking questions, “If they do this, can I go this way…”. A lot of people don’t understand that about 20% of our offense is based on his reads. He is a first year starting QB and he knows everyone assignment & knows how we have to get out of some plays. If a receiver is uncovered, he has the go to throw it, even if it’s 4th & 20! If you’ve got a good running back, you’ve got to have a passing game.”
Other plaudits to hand out?: “Thomas Dupree is trying to work his way into a starting role since some medical problems early and he had a great game at defensive tackle. Jeremy Stokes had maybe his best game of the season playing defensive end. Jeremy came in and made some key tackles plus rushed the passer for us. Justin Smith has been playing a backup role on defense and offense and played a lot of snaps because of it, he had a sack and made some key tackles for us. John Hodge had a good night. John is basically the anchor of our defense and we moved him from linebacker to defensive end. I don’t know if that is the right place for him, but right now he is doing a great job. On the offensive side, Josh Beasley is our coach on the offensive line. He lines us up and calls the blocking on every play and makes sure everybody is on the same sheet of music. He understands what we are doing, and our kids listen to him. They know he is a smart kid and knows his assignment plus everybody elses and I credit him and the offensive line for the recent high yardage games we have had.”
Any injuries noted after the game? “No, just the normal bumps and bruises. Going into the last game of the season, and we are healthy. We start every practice with flex conditioning and work hard on lefts that build the area around the joint areas and I have to think it has helped. A lot of teams have injuries to key people, we are fortunate.”
On the loud Homecoming Crowd: “I can’t say enough about the crowd! I talked to my wife and she said it was SRO! They were so vocal. I talked with (Band Director) Joseph Nichols and I thanked him for all that he and the band does during the game to get the crowd involved. I told him at the pep rally (Thursday night on the Court Square) that his effort does not go unnoticed! We probably don’t tell them we appreciate them as often as we should, but we know that they are there and it does make a difference. Our fans have been there all season and we just ask that they would come out one more time! Then they can travel with us in the playoffs!”
On Homecoming activities: “It was a great week! The pep rally, the students thruout the week, it just all came together great. The more we can get the student body involved, the more it carries over to other sports.”
On Chester County: “They are a good football team with a lot of weapons that probably executes better than Dresden. They have some really good running backs that are all equally fast and a good quarterback that throws the ball well. They run a wing-T offense. They are similar to us on defense, they run a 4-3, they have speed in the secondary and they don’t give up a big play. Maybe we can keep this a low scoring game and grind out a win. Our kids will be focused and maybe if we can execute the game plan we can get a win.”
On the Senior Night activities next Friday at 7 PM before the game: “It is always special, it is your last regular season game, and for kids that have been playing they kind of have to look back and notice how fast it has flown by. We will challenge our underclassmen to step up and play there best to get these Seniors a win because THEY will be Seniors soon. If we are going to have another game, we have to play well Friday.”
On the JV teams success: “The last three games they only gave up 16 points. I have to credit them for not quitting and fighting back, starting the season 0-2 and winning three straight. We are going to have some of these kids to step up and play some skilled positions next year. Chad Horton played about two quarters in the last three games, we needed to get him the reps so that he can run our offense.”
Let’s all plan to be at the Tailgate Soup Supper about 6 PM and support the CHS HOSA Club fundraiser. The Senior Night activities will start at 7 PM on Wright Field and we hope our fans will be out in force and yell loud for our Lions!
GO LIONS!
by Tony Dillon
Homecoming Photo Highlights
by Tony Dillon